Turkey Massing Troops on Iraq Border?

Despite a rise in guerrilla violence and media reports of some cross-border military activity, Turkey is unlikely to launch a major incursion into northern Iraq without the consent of authorities in the region

Turkey has massed troops along its Iraqi border to increase pressure on the United States and the new government in Baghdad to act against a growing threat from Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq.

But despite a rise in guerrilla violence and media reports of some cross-border military activity, Turkey is unlikely to launch a major incursion into northern Iraq without the consent of authorities in the region, diplomats and analysts say.

The Turkish army traditionally launches a spring offensive against the rebels as they descend from their mountain hideouts, but the latest military build-up is the biggest for years.

Turkey has sent some 40,000 troops to its mainly Kurdish southeast region to reinforce some 220,000 already based there in anticipation of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant raids.

Daily Times - Site Edition